Merry Christmas from Lallybroch
by AtHeart150
Summary: Warning Anyone following Je Suis Prest, this contains spoilers. Merry Christmas Fraser Fans. A gift from me to you. Enjoy.


I do not own any of these characters. They come from the imagination of an amazing woman, Diana Gabaldon. I just can not stop tweaking them, it seems.

Be warned. For all my faithful followers of _Je Suis Prest._ This contains spoilers. Read at your own risk of the dreaded reading the last page before you get to the end of the book syndrome.

 _Nollaig Chridheil Jenny. Ian. Mam and Da, Willie and ya too wee Robert. I came up ta wish ya Happy Christmas before things get too loon around here at Lallybroch._

 _As ya ken, I turned 50 this year in May. Stop your laugh'n, Jenny... That makes ya 255, I'll remind ya. Ya'll always be my older sister, aye? Claire and Bree threw a Huge Party for me. Lallybroch all decked out and lit up. The house was as sight to see. Claire had it 'catered'. Brought a fancy company in and they cooked, served and cleaned up. Ya'd have hardly ken there was a party here the next day. And a band. Everybody in their finery and sing'n and dance'n and drink'n, of course. Murtagh even danced the swords. At 72! I wish ya could have seen him. He was winded to say the least. Mary had to find him a chair to sit down in when he was done. They've been married 26 years. I thought the old coot would never settle down. No kids, but Mary was a widow and had a couple of lads that Murtagh has stepped in and helped raise. He's a great-gran'da as well. Makes me laugh just to see him holding a wee one._

 _And my lovely bride just turned 56. Married 27 years now and Jenny, she still melts my heart every time she walks into a room. She has her "Claire's Bee's Honey" business, which is doing quite well and she still works at the Woman's Center in Broch Mordha, 4 days a week. She went back to school and got her Midwifery Certification and loves helping with the births. She does get calls at all hours of the night, but I always go with her. I wait with the expectant dads and help keep'm calm until the bairn arrives. We've delivered 27 bairn this year alone, one was a surprise set of twins. One baby for every year we've been married. We are "on call" for two more over this Christmas holiday. Claire will have to be the designated driver when we go out drink'n. The dad's do'na care if I show up a wee tipsy. I am there as a happy distraction anyway, remember Ian?_

 _The kids. Ya be want'n to hear about the kids, aye?_

 _Fergus, of course. He is 36 now. Been married to Marisa for 8 years now. They have the four kids still, no new additions; they finally stopped breed'n like rabbits. Nice not to see Marisa pregnant every Christmas. Germain is 8, Joan is 7, Felicite is 6 and wee Henri-Christian is 4 and the apple of his Granny Claire's eye. We love them all dearly. Claire and I helped Fergus set up a small printing business, about 10 years ago, in Edinburgh. He has been quite successful at it. Marisa talked him into a wedding invitations side-line and it has almost doubled his business, he says. Marisa designs all the invitations and Fergus prints them. They are driving up and should be here in time before tea today. We have not seen them since Claire and I drove to London in May. She purchased tickets to_ _ **Billy**_ _for my birthday, and then we stopped over in Edinburgh to see the kids and have birthday cake. Claire made me my usual Carrot Cake; since it is the only vegetable I will eat, she makes me eat it in a cake._

 _My Bonnie Faith. She is 27. Still teaching English to the French, or Frogs as Murtagh says. Beautiful, just like her mam. And Healthy! Being born two months premature, we almost lost her. She fit in the palm of my hand when I first held her. The doctors said Faith would'na survive the night, but Claire would have none of it, the wee fiery force of nature that she is. She can be a force to be reckoned with when her dander is up. She would not loose hope, not loose faith and so, against doctor's orders, we took our wee Faith home the very night she was born. Claire had us both strip naked and climb straight into bed with our first bairn. Claire had Faith lay on one of our chests, skin to skin, her wee head over our heart , 24 hours a day, for a full week before Claire would even think of leaving the room. She fed our wee Faith every two hours like clockwork. I finally made her give me Faith and take a bath; she needed to bathe for Gods sake, and mine. Can you imagine Claire not bathing for a full week? After that one of the two of us always had her in 'a sling'. Something Claire, while living with her Uncle Lambert, had see women in Africa carry their bairn in. She took my dress Fraser plaid, she had just given me that first Christmas, placed Faith in it, still skin to skin, and tied it over her shoulder. Claire was naked as the day she was born from the waist up. I would'na let Claire leave the house, as she would'na cover herself, not even wearing a shirt until she finally took to wearing one of my coats over that sling. She would weed her garden, feed the chickens, iron clothes and help with the cooking all with Faith wrapped tightly to her chest. I can'na argue with her. It worked. We beat all the odds. Ya ken I'm a bett'n man too. Faith wanted to go to University in France, like her da. She met Phillipe Popcock, stop laughing Jenny, when Faith got a part-time job at 'Fraser et Cie'. Yes, Cousin Jared business is thriving, and they have been married for 10 years now. Fanny is 10 and Jane is 7. They still live in Paris. Fergus picked them up yesterday at the airport and are bringing them here to Lallybroch with them this afternoon. That will be one packed van._

 _My Bree, herself, we call her around here. Bree is all me, Jenny. For all Faith is just like Claire, Bree is all me - Fraser from head to toe. And stubborn as any rock around. That being said, she is the apple of my eye, but that is our little secret, aye? She married Roger Mac. Yes, the MacKenzie Lad. Related to Uncle Dougal. I ken, I ken. He must be part saint to stay married to such an amazingly, beautiful but terribly bullheaded lass as herself. And is she bossy! Always has to be in charge. Married 7 years, they have. Happy too. They live in Claire's old flat in Inverness for now. Roger is to be the new Presbyterian minister and they will move into the Manse, the one that Roger grew up in, come this January. Claire says that means we will need to start attending Church more regularly. It won't due for us not to be there to support Roger. Bree is a 'Civil Engineer' as opposed to an ''un-civil" one, I suppose. She works for the power company, developing hydro-electric power. Don't ask Jenny. I will bring her up here and she can explain it to ya. I just ken it makes the lights work. Jem is now 7 but going on 30 and wee Mandy is 3 now and has me wrapped around her little finger. She is most definitely Grandpa's little angel and the spitting image of her Granny; I ken exactly what my Sassenach looked like at age 3, except Mandy has dimples and Claire did'na, or so she says._

 _I don't want to forget William. He does not want me to call him Willie anymore. I embarrass him when I do. His mam can, but I can'na. I am bursting with pride. He is going to be 16 this January. Begging for a car for his birthday, because he can'na be seen in his 'auld man's pickup truck'. Claire says we should oblige him, I'm undecided. He is co-captain of his schools Rugby team. There's a great sport and Claire and I never miss a match. They are undefeated. He is in his Fifths. One more year, then he needs to decide what he will do. He is leaning toward military. Navy most likely, he says. Don't ken why, he's get sea-sick look'n at calm water while stand'n on land; worse than I ever was. Says he wants to fly the Search and Rescue Helicopters. Again, don't ask Jenny. They are flying machines is all I can say. Ask about them another time, aye? Maybe Claire can explain 'em._

 _Lallybroch. Claire found Lallybroch for me. Never a more beautiful site to my sore eyes. It is home. I have raised my family here. Still a working farm. Breed and breaking horses mostly. Have some Highland cows and black faced sheep, just to keep the grass cut, Claire says. Claire still plants the two gardens and keeps mam's rose bush from taking over the house. The house smells wonderful when they are in bloom. I am content with life. I'll never regret the choices I've made. I consider myself a lucky man. I have a wife that has loved me from the first day, or night rather, we met. I would give her the world, if she wanted it. She is content with Lallybroch, our family and me, though not necessarily in that order, she assures me. I miss you Jen. Every day. Ya ken that, aye? You are my one and only regret. I have met my calling, answered my God and will be content with being a farmer and not a Laird. I would not change my life for anything in this world or beyond._

 _I love ya, mo chridhe. Sleep well. I will come back to talk soon._

I turn to walk out of the family kirkyard and see mo neighan donn sitting quietly on the wall waiting for me. Smiling.

"Soooo, how's Jenny?" she asks.

"I woke her," I reply and kiss my wife on the lips. It still quickens my heart and gives me a cockstand when I do. It will never get old. I will never stop wanting this woman.

She looks down then back at me, smiles and says, "Well at least you are happy to see me and laughs.

I love her laugh.

I help her down off the wall. She twisted her knee the last time she hopped down. I do not want her injured and laid up with all the grandkids coming.

"Just how many days are we watching **ALL** the grandkids?" I ask. Claire, in her infinite wisdom, has offered us up as full time babysitters while the kids and their respective spouses, go back to Edinburgh with Fergus and Marisa for 5 days, to ring in 1975 properly, in the big city. No Children, which is where Granny and Grand'da come into play. William had begged to be allowed to go as well. I had to promise to pay him to help his mam and I with his nieces and nephews. When money was offered up, he rescinded his original request and will help me take the lads fishing one of the days.

"We got a card from Frank," she says smiling.

Ok, so maybe there would be one thing I would change. Randall. Just kidding. He has been a great friend to Claire and to me. A wise man. A generous man. And Faith's Godfather. Said if William really wants a military career, he still had some connections and would happily make some calls on William's behalf.

"He says he is in America, Arizona of all places." Claire says. "Some temporary teaching position at Northern Arizona University. Says he has a very bright young woman as one of his students that is going to work as a research assistant for him. A Diana Gabaldon. He is working on a new book about the Revolutionary War, from a British perspective, and he thinks she will be a great help to him. He wants to know if we would like to come for a visit. He says to take a Group Family Photo. He wants to see everyone, including you, in the picture. We are to tell everyone he is sorry he won't make it back this year and to have a Merry Christmas. Oh, he said he is sending you a present. It's here, it was delivered with the card. Would you like to see it?"

I look at my wife like she is loon. Why would Randall send me a gift? I hear "Grand'da" and I turn. There is my wee Mandy, on her chubby little legs running up the hill to me, her arms open wide. Jem is not far behind her, being pulled by a beautiful black puppy with a big red bow around it's neck. A Newfoundland. And Bree and Roger are walking hand in hand behind them.

I turn to my wife and say, "I am blessed indeed."

Merry Christmas to all. And a Happy 2017.


End file.
